MS-13
They grew out from the cold war the US and Russia was engaged in. They started
from a small country call El Salvador and have spread rapidly all through out Central
America Mexico, South America and The United States. There weapon of choice is the
machete which they use to dismember there enemies and attack a rival on site. This fast
and growing group is the Mara Salva Trucha 13.
Mara=Posse Salvatrucha=represents street tough Salvadorians are former guerrilla
fighters, undocumented workers or poor peasants who grew up in tough areas. They have
grown since the end of the cold war. Last count by the FBI in an MSNBC investigation
puts membership at 10,000 and climbing in the United States. In that same article there
are around 30,000 members in Central and South America. The FBI has created a
separate gang task force just to deal with the MS-13.
Some of the crimes the MS-13 has committed and still commits are Racketeering,
murder, kidnapping, extortion and drug trafficking. One example of there violent history
was an attack on a bus in Honduras which was in an article on PBS’s News Hour. Six
MS-13 members stopped a bus and sprayed it with gun fire killing 28 people six of
which were children. The suspects were apprehended and when asked why they attacked
the bus they said it was for the government crackdown on gang youths.
The MS-13 gang is different from other gangs. In most gangs they wear a color
that represents who they represent. The MS-13 are almost similar to the Yakuza, the
largest gang in Japan. The MS-13 like the yakuza identify themselves with tattoos on
there body and face. Usually on there forehead they have MS-13 tattooed. They also
follow a code to attack any rival on site. They will attack day or night, rain or shine.
There weapon of choice is the machete an old farm tool to cut crops is now used to
decapitate , dismember and gut there enemy. One such story reported in the Washington
post is of a sixteen year old kid who they thought was in a gang was attacked and had
fingers sliced off by putting his hands up for protection.
More needs to be done to curve gang violence. When I watched the history
channel a month a go they did a story on gangs and one method they were trying in Los
Angeles was to have youths go to visit a coroners office and see all the young lives that
have been lost. Even in a recent San Francisco Chronicle article a coach for the Berkley
Cougars takes his players to a funeral home to ask them how do they want to want to end
up? In a casket or become a productive member of society. Parents need to be more
involved in there children’s lives. Gang violence can be stopped gangs can be stopped by
parents being more responsible, by society being responsible and finding ways to educate
the youth in a way were they will not be turned off. Give them some sort of skill to use.
This should also be applied in Latin American countries where the MS-13 came from and
still come to our country. This war in the streets needs to end. Wouldn’t it be great to
see John Lennon’s sign “Merry Christmas the War is Over” again.
